I almost hijacked the comments at A Church For Starving Artists this morning when I read her post "TGIF No More Limbo."
You see, Limbo is more than a theological concept for me. When I was about six years old my mother had a baby boy who had birth injuries and genetic problems. He came home for a few weeks but hemmoraged when she was bathing him. I remember this because I was watching as she did it. He was rushed to the local hospital but there wasn't any way to save him.
The hospital was run by an order of Catholic nuns. At this time the pediatric intensive care unit was staffed with many nuns who were nurses (yes, this was a long time ago--late 1950's). The nuns told my mother that they wanted to baptise him so his soul wouldn't be trapped in Limbo for all eternity. She was horrified by both the concept and their wanting to do this to a Presbyterian baby, so my dad quickly called in our minister to baptise him in the hospital. He died shortly thereafter.
Mother never got over that incident. She couldn't understand how the Catholic church could teach an extra-Biblical doctrine that punished new born babies. She resented the pressure to baptise him that she got from the nuns. This incident added a lot to the stress and depression she suffered after he died which I remember well.
So I like to think that she is in heaven today thinking, "What took you so long?"
10 comments:
I agree.
In my first parish, Fr. Richard --my sole colleague in town -- told me, when I said I couldn't believe in limbo, replied: "even Catholics don't believe it. It's just a good way to make Catholic parents schedule their infant's baptisms promptly."
Great.
It cracks me up that someone (even the pope) can decree such a change and "so it is." (Thought only God could do that.)
And the ironic thing is that it never really was a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church -- but it might as well have been for all the pain and fear it caused.
One of the articles I read this morning pointed out that this shift has been a long time in coming, and that previous Popes have distanced themselves from the idea. I suppose better late than never....
I have to admit that when I read about this earlier today, I was amused. Your posting today wiped the smile off my face. Thanks for what you said.
Thank you for telling this story. I hope it will help us all remember to consider expressing God's love and care to be more important than our particular rules and practices.
Thank you for sharing this story QG.
What Songbird said.
I am so sorry, both for your loss of your brother and the unnecessary interjection of additional pain into all your lives.
What they said and "thanks", too.
Ditto. How sad.
What a horrible experience with your infant brother. I am so sorry. And I believe you and your mother will meet him in paradise.
These things also cause me to wonder, what about my 21 year old cousin who, after many years a Christian lad, put a gun to his head in front of his pregnant wife, and blew his brains out. This was a poor lad whose life was hijacked by so many elements of evil, not of his doing, that I ache at wondering about his salvation.
I don't think that the Pope understands how disasterous this change will be.
Amen. Shout it out. My mom trained in Catholic hospital to be a nurse, and talked about that pressure she felt. How sad for you and for your mom and the baby. Glad your Pastor made it. What damage is done.
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